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Memorial Hall has had many uses over the past century and a half. In its present version, the monumental Beaux Arts structure is home to the Please Touch Museum.
Two small buildings used as “comfort stations” for Exposition visitors to Horticultural Hall have stood the test of time. These brick structures face a modern greenhouse that marks the former site of Horticultural Hall.
Victorian-era houses line Parkside Ave. in the East Parkside neighborhood. The view is south from the grounds of Memorial Hall.
The view is east from the vicinity of N. 58th St. above Carroll Park (the public park), showing the rooftops of the Carroll Park and Cathedral Park neighborhoods. Cathedral Park begins at N. 52nd St. Appearing as a diagonal, Girard Ave. leads to Cathedral Park Cemetery, indicated by the grouping of trees (right-center).
The view is east from Overbook High School, which is located on Lancaster Ave. in the Overbrook neighborhood. Built in the Late Gothic Revival style, this historic high school opened in 1924.
The view is east from Concourse Lake to Memorial Hall, in West Fairmount Park’s Centennial District. Constructed for the 1876 Centennial Exposition, Memorial Hall housed the exposition’s art gallery. Today, the Beaux Arts building is home to the Please Touch Museum.
The view is east showing rooftops of Belmont, a neighborhood north of Market St., with the Center City skyline in the far background. During World War II, blacks became the dominant racial group in Belmont. By 1960, they totaled 94 percent of the neighborhood’s population.
From 1957 to 1964, the primary high school feeders for American Bandstand were Catholic Boys' High School and Catholic Girls' High School. In 1989, the two schools merged to form West Philadelphia Catholic Preparatory High School, shown here on the 4500 block of Chestnut St.
Image 13: Percentage of Dwellings with Nonwhite Occupants, West Philadelphia by Block, 1960
Image 12: Percentage of Dwellings with Nonwhite Occupants, West Philadelphia by Block, 1950
